US State Department affirms support for Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury

by Dr. Richard Benkin
March 13, 2010

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/607/us-state-department-affirms-support-for-salah

The US State Department has issued its report on the state of human rights in almost 200 individual countries. This is an annual report issued by the State Department, and its contents often reflect general and even specific positions of the US diplomatic corps and administration. For instance, much has been made of late about a new relationship between the Obama administration and the State of Israel. While that is patently correct, the report reflects some basic principles in the US-Israel relation even in difficult times such as these.

For instance, one the on hand, the report refers to "Israel and the occupied territories," while it is not at all clear that any territories are occupied. Since international borders have never been negotiated at any time between Israel and its Arab neighbors, the more accurate term is "disputed territories." It also stated that "Arab citizens of Israel continued to suffer various forms of discrimination in public and private life." It also included an annex with "reports" of torture but no substantiation. Yet—and again remember that this is a US administration considered the most hostile to Israel since the state's founding—it did not provide a long list of examples, as it did with regard to other matters. It was much harder on the Palestinian Authority section; and in almost every single category that it covers, the report exonerated the State of Israel. For instance, it noted "the government or its agents did not commit politically motivated killings" and "here were no reports of politically motivated disappearances during the year." The report reflected the ambiguity between the Obama administration's positions and the historical and still strong positions of the overwhelming number of US citizens and lawmakers.

Most significant was the report's statement on the 2008 war in Gaza, "Operation Defensive Shield," as well as the now notorious Goldstone Report—because here there was no ambiguity. In its description of the war, the State Department report began with a review of the increased Hamas rocket attacks and stated clearly that the Israeli action was in direct response to them. It also described the war as being waged against Hamas, never against Palestinians. It described the Goldstone Report briefly, but spent a great deal more time describing its flaws, which conforms to the US position rejecting its validity.

Although the report gave the Awami League government mixed reviews, it is clear that the State Department remains invested in its success. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom and other bodies recognized Bangladesh's move from a non-elected to an elected government in 2009. By the same token, its report noted a significant number of human rights abuses that remain. Most significant for the American and international supporters of Weekly Blitz publisher and editor Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury was the fact that the report made prominent mention of his case; that is, that it remains a human rights concern for even this less aggressive government of the United States. Moreover, while the mention was not extensive, the report made sure to communicate ongoing US concern by highlighting the mention as a separate paragraph. Most significantly, it noted Shoaib's case prominently under the heading of "Political Prisoners and Detainees." That is, despite the fact that Shoaib is not in custody at the moment, the United States does not consider him free from government harassment.

The report is highly significant for while the current administration has been far less aggressive in pursuing justice for Shoaib, it indicates that the US government has not abandoned its support for him. Moreover, Shoaib's supporters in the Congress and the Senate remain, and if anything, the political winds are changing in the United States and we can expect further gains for our supporters in the November midterm elections. The most important of those elections is that for US Senator from the state of Illinois. Shoaib's biggest congressional supporter, Mark Steven Kirk, is currently favored to win that seat, formerly held by Barack Obama.

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